Hemming yoga pants

I bought Del some nice manly yoga pants for Christmas. The store actually offers free hemming, but I figured that it would be much less painless to hem them myself than go through the rigamaroll of getting him to the store to be fitted, waiting a week, then going back to pick them up (which we would procrastinate and stress about). So yeah, faster to do it at home...and write a tutorial about it.

The fabric is a thick nylon/lycra blend knit, which can be a little tricky to handle (especially if you are measuring and hemming your own pants). A few extra tools and notions will help maintain alignment and a good state of mind during the hemming process: a cardstock folding template (free download here), a rotary cutter/clear ruler, chalk, 1/2" wide Lite Steam-a-Seam 2, iron, an appropriate needle (either ball-point or universal, a variety pack is good to have on hand so you can get the right thickness), and matching polyester thread (black in most cases).




Put the pants on, wrong side facing out. NOTE: If you are going to be wearing the pants mostly with shoes (for torturous things like running and not blissful barefoot yoga), you should have them on at this point. Make a cuff to get a general idea of where you would like the hem to fall. If the pants are 1-2.5" too long, you should use a seam ripper to carefully take out the existing stitching. If they are longer than that, you can leave the stitching in because you are just going to cut it off anyway.




The hem fold should hit 0.25" to 0.5" from the floor at the back heel, depending on your wearing preferences. Insert your handy dandy folding template (free download here) into the bottom of the cuff as shown above. Use it to measure how far your new fold will be from the existing bottom edge (3" in my case). If you are as scatterbrained as I am, you should write this number down.




Set the iron to a temperature that is high enough to make steam, but not so hot that it melts the fabric. I used the highest setting and didn't have a problem, but a different fiber composition might not hold up as well. Fold the folding template in half widthwise (numbers facing out) and reinsert into the cuff. Use it as a guide for measuring and pressing the new fold. After pressing all the way around the cuff, go around again (guide in place) and mark the new bottom edge with chalk.




Uncuff the pants and turn them right (chalk-marked) side out. For each leg: lay flat, and align and pin the existing bottom edges to prevent shifting during the next step.





Place a clear cutting ruler on the leg, and position the edge 1.5" below the chalk line (highlighted with blue) as shown above. Don't mix up your cutting edges here, or you will wind up with capris! Use a rotary cutter to cut through both layers. Save that scrap from the bottom...you can use it for testing stitches later!




Turn the pants wrong side out (again). Following the manufacturer's instructions, fuse the Steam-a-Seam in line with the bottom cut edge. Once you have applied it all the way around, remove the paper backing.




Fold the taped edge over to the wrong side. Arrange the hem so the chalk line is right at the fold. Pin the fold very close to the marking. Finger press the raw edge into place all the way around (the tape is a little sticky, so it will hold), then set by pressing with the iron.




Turn the pants right side out. Now is the perfect time for a try-on. If you need to make an adjustment, simply hit the hem with steam from the iron and peel apart. Reposition and press again (you may need to retape if the original tape does not hold).

Now it is time to stitch! There is a lot of great info on the web about sewing knit fabrics, so I won't go into too much gory detail. Chances are, the original hem stitch was done with a coverstitch machine. If you don't have one of those - no problem. A regular sewing machine works great with the proper needles and settings. You should use a stitch that has some stretch to it (a plain straight stitch can pop if overstretched). I used a basic zig-zag stitch set to the widest width (7 mm, I think) and a medium stitch length (default spacing). The tension was set a bit lower than for normal stitching to prevent puckering. Another great option would be double top-stitching with a ball-point twin needle (excellent tutorial here).




Starting at the inseam, stitch about 1.25" from the folded edge. If your machine doesn't have a reference point this far from the needle, you can mark one with a pen or tape (I use the edge of the switch that ejects the faceplate). Use your fingers to lightly "steer" the fabric as you stitch. As in yoga, no extreme pushing or pulling! You may need to give it a nudge when sewing over thick seams, but otherwise it should cruise along without much help. If it seems stuck, you may need to loosen the tension or increase the stitch length. OK, I promised not to go on and on. Really, the best thing you can do is optimize stitching on those scraps.





Don't be concerned if your stitching comes out a little wavy - a quick steamy press with the iron will make it factory flat.




Tada(sana)!

The stitching doesn't really show up in the picture, but that is the whole point. Since it is black on black, the stitching blends right into the hem. As long as the stitching is flat and even, no one (other than you) will ever get close enough to your feet to ponder your choice of stitch settings!

10 Little Leighannas

Jennifer and I are so in love with the Leighanna pics that have been rolling in! As a dress or top, with or without pom-poms, this pattern brings out the cutest poses!



What do these two cuties have in common? Well, not only are they wearing decked out bell-sleeved Leighanna dresses, but they both have blogger mommies who are incredible seamstresses and huge Sis Boom fans! To see more adorable smiles from these two, check out Christine's blog and Jenny's blog.




These two are sporting feminine little Leighannas made from West Indies Marie. Paired with bright fun leggings, they make for perfect winter wear. Both of these little blondies are spunky and sweet, just like their pretty mamas Mindy and Jeanne!




Wild colors and demure little smiles - I love it! These older little girls (sorry, I can't bear to call them tweens yet) look stunning in their funky ruffled tops. For the ties, Beth used rick-rack and Tom used velvet ribbon. By the way, the pattern contains instructions for drawstring and mock drawstring (elasticized) necklines.




Two of a kind, birds-of-a-feather, Marlo and Cathy never cease to amaze! Marlo made a beautiful gown-length peasant for a friend's gorgeous daughter. Cathy made her darling Devon a mod top to wear on Thanksgiving. Jennifer posted the picture on her blog, and we got so many requests for a mama version that we decided to make that happen and name the pattern Devon :) .




And finally, a couple of cuties photographed up at Sis Boom land. Both are wearing dresses made from Queen Street. Bells are a favorite this time of year, but the one on the left shows off the basic sleeve option. There is also an elasticized sleeve option (pics to come). The one on the right has blue and white bells with pom-poms that match the fabric perfectly! Jennifer says A Treasure Nest is THE source for such special trims!

ABC, easy as 123

A is for Angie! This super-simple dress was a big hit with our testers, and they all get an A+++ for their great work!

Sara from Sew Sweetness made a beautiful little dress out of Fuchsia Marnie from Jen's Poodle line. She is rocking it with a black belt and leggings! You can read about her testing experience here. She's the one who hosted the great sew-along for our Jamie Dress, so we just knew she would do something amazing with the Angie Pattern.




Here is April, up in wild, wonderful Wyoming! Even though Angie is a sleeveless dress, she shows that it is perfectly suited for cold weather with the right wrap! This gal has to trek half a day to get fabric and notions, but she gets the job done!
She said "Hands down the easiest pattern I have made in a long time. I loved the bias tape and really liked how the elastic went in so easy. "




Ooooh, and here is our dear Jenny Fish, who picked the most darling fabric combo to test Angie AND Leighanna! Her dress makes her feel like a total "Betty" and you can read all about it here!




Here is my girl Cathy (head lab tech for Scientific Seamstress), in her lovely Angie. Check out her blog to see the other amazing things she has been making with Sis Boom Fabric this holiday season!




My good friend Jeanne made an Angie jumper for her beautiful daughter #1. She said "I love and adult dress with no buttons or zippers! So easy to make!"
Stay tuned to see beautiful daughter #2 in her Leighanna.




Shannon made a beautiful Angie, and photographed it on a dress form in front of her tree. Who needs lights and ornaments when you have Sis Boom fabric, right?

OK, here I am in an Angie prototype. Not the best picture, but no one ever likes pics of themselves, right? I wore it with tights and a cardi, and I was warm and comfy all day.

The reason this dress is so darn fast and easy is because the neckline and armholes are finished with bias tape. If you have any concern about sewing on bias tape, don't worry - I give step-by-step instructions in the ePattern. If you want to make your own bias tape, check out my free printable bias tape folder. It is so easy to use...just check out this great video from the Greek site ftiaxto:

Two new Sis Boom patterns!

Jennifer and I are happy to announce the arrival of our latest sewing patterns...Angie and Leighanna! They are available on the Sis Boom website and in the Scientific Seamstress Etsy Shop. Look for them soon on the other great sites that carry our downloadable patterns!

Now, we usually release a woman's pattern and a matching kiddo counterpart at the same time. In this case the little girl's version was already available in Jen's book. The very retro, easy-to-make Mary's Fancy Sash Dress was such a hit, we were getting requests for a mama version. So I got to work on that, but I had this nagging feeling that I would be in big trouble if I didn't have something new for the little gals. Jen always has a big list of ideas for me, so I picked her darling little pom-pom trimmed peasant.

Over the next few days, I'll talk a bit more about the two new patterns and show of some gorgeous tester creations. Today I want you to meet the real Leighanna and Angie. Even though the patterns aren't technically a "mommy and me" set, we named them after a lovely mother daughter pair.



You all know Tom, right? He has been making beautiful creations for his wife and daughter for years, and now he is selling custom creations...his business is booming! Like his Facebook Page to see what is sewing for HeavenleighBlessings Boutique.

Jennifer had the amazing opportunity to meet Tom and his family at the Country Living Fair in Ohio. She was so inspired, she wanted to name the next pattern after Tom's sweet wife, Angie. Since I also had a girls' pattern in the works, the logical name choice was that of his adorable daughter, Leighanna. Incidentally, Tom already has boxer shorts named after him :) .


As soon as the testers got ahold of the Leighanna pattern, they demanded a mama version. I had time to whip up a prototype just before the Sis Boom Holiday Show last weekend.



I actually wore the peasant under my new Angie dress, and the shoppers loved it! If it had been a little warmer, I would have considered selling it off my back. Since the instructions will be just like those of the Leighanna, it shouldn't take me long to get the pattern ready. Louie donned a coordinating Festive Vest and Bosco Bow Tie. The apron is to protect his dressy duds from the yummy pasta Jennifer made just for him...awwwww!

Oh, Thank Cuteness!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The fun folks at GenerationQ Magazine are stuffing us full of adorableness this week. They are sharing pictures and stories about the cute critters (2 and 4 legged) they hold dear, and are inviting readers to do the same. So in the spirit of "Oh, Thank Cuteness" week, I'm shamelessly showing off some recent pictures of my precious ones :) .

When Louie was a bald headed, sweet-smelling infant in a tiny onesie, I didn't think he could possibly get any cuter. Then he became a happy, giggly little toddler with wispy blond hair. I figured he had to be at his cuteness peak. Before I knew it, kindergarten came along, and that little guy with the huge backpack could not have been more adorable. Now he is seven - a big kid for sure, and he still blows me away with his cuteness.

We have lots of great pictures from the last few months - first day of school, Halloween, birthday parties, random precious moments, etc., but I have to say my favorites are from Cub Scouts. Not only does Lou look great in navy, but he is always beaming when he has a scouting event.




My other cutie in uniform is my husband Delmar. He doesn't usually wear his work garb at home, but the other night we had our den of cubs over for a food-centric activity. The Chef talked a bit about healthy eating and the food pyramid, but his amazing crepes were the highlight of the evening.




The "Sous Chefs" helped out by slicing strawberries.




I tried to get some posed pictures with nice smiles, but that doesn't seem to be feasible with 1st grade boys.




Can you tell they are excited to eat???




This is the best picture I got of them enjoying their crepes...only one of them is under the table.




And I can't do a post about cuteness without mentioning Madyson, the 4th grader I watch before and after school. When Lou was little, he happily tried on twirl skirts and dresses for me. Then it got to the point that I had to 1) pay him 50 cents and 2) let him wear a manly hat for the pictures. Now he just flat out refuses to be a fitting model. Thank goodness for Mady! Not only is she sweet and beautiful, but she loves to dress up in my handmade frocks.




Here she is modeling the Leighanna, a Sis Boom pattern that we are about ready to launch. She picked out the fabric and trim herself...that girl has great taste!




She and Louie are like brother and sister - best friends one minute, mortal enemies the next. Even when they act like maniacs, they are just too dang adorable.

So that is my dose of cute for the day - now I have to go peel potatoes! I can't complain because the hot chef is doing the rest of the work. I can just sit back and be thankful :). Want to join in the Oh, Thank Cuteness fun? Just go to the first post of the week on GenQ and add your link. Hope you have a wonderful day of family, food, and maybe even a little sewing!

Double or nothing

Your comments on the 0.5" wide single-fold bias tape maker made me so happy, I just had to follow up with a 1" wide single-fold bias tape maker! The great thing about 1" single-fold bias tape is that it is but 1 fold away from being 0.5" wide double-fold bias tape, which is incredibly useful for binding and finishing edges.

It works exactly like the 0.5" tape maker, I just widened the appropriate parts. It took some tweaking, but once I got it optimized it went together quickly since the instructions were essentially the same. Now I'm going to take the laziness a step further and recycle some blog content :) . The free pdf contains instructions for printing and assembling the tape maker. There is some careful cutting involved, but it goes together pretty quickly and can be used over and over again. And if you happen to smash/tear/burn it, simply print another.



The contraption is optimized for folding 1.875" bias strips into 1" wide single fold tape. You can tweak the starting strip width a bit to get slightly wider or narrower tape.



Here is how it works: The strip is fed into a "slide" that does the folding. The top notch and tabs keep the strip centered, and the "splitter" keeps the outer edges from curling or overlapping. The folded tape is pressed as soon as it comes out of the slide, and it goes under two more tabs to set the folds as they cool.
Now I'm hearing the How it's Made music in my head AGAIN!

The result is 1" wide tape with folds that are a bit over 1/4" wide (just like purchased tape of this size).




I played a bit with a single-fold to double-fold tape maker, but honestly, the easiest thing is to fold the 1" tape in half lengthwise and press to make 0.5" wide double-fold bias tape. You can make the folded edges flush, or leave a bit of an overhang for single step application (described by Angry Chicken in this video).




Now that I have an easy, foolproof way to make double-fold bias tape, I'm going to have to knock out a bunch of Betsey Aprons for the holidays!

Download the free printable bias tape maker here.
See this post for more information about cutting bias strips.

Go ahead, mock me.

Do you know how hard it is to find a black turtleneck and olive green pants in size 6? When Louis told me he wanted to be Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz for Halloween, I ordered him a lab coat off of Amazon. I figured I could get the rest of the outfit locally. I had my eyes peeled for about a month, but finally went on a mission to the mall day before yesterday. No luck, and too late to order off the internet. So I went to Joann and bought fabric instead. I was actually a little relieved - last year I felt horribly guilty for buying him an Ironman costume at Costco. He LOVED it, but come on, I sew for a living...you'd think I could put a little effort into making my own kid a simple costume.

I picked up some black interlock for the shirt and some green corduroy for the pants. I figured as long as I was going to the trouble, I could go ahead and add some appliques to the outfit to 1) make it a little more special, 2) make it obvious who he was supposed to be, and 3) have a custom set ready for him to wear to Disneyworld next spring.

For the mock turtleneck, I used my Raglan Shirt pattern. I doubled the length of neckband (cut the piece on two folds rather than one), and even though the fabric had at least 100% stretch, I used the 75% cutting line just so I could be sure it would fit over his head. Otherwise, I put it together exactly as described in the pattern.

Doofenshmirtz doesn't get very far with out Agent P (Perry the Platypus) popping up, so I added him to the Easy-Fit pants.

We still need to work on hair and makeup, but he has the evil scientist look down pat!

Curse you, Perry the Platypus!

Printable Bias Tape Maker!

You all know how much I love using cardstock folding templates, right? For a few years now I've been playing with the idea of a cardstock bias tape maker. Whenever I had a project involving bias tape, I would experiment, fail miserably, and scrap the idea. Well, right now I'm working on a Sis Boom pattern that requires picture perfect, 1/2" wide single fold bias tape. I have a metal tape maker that size, but I don't have the patience (or the dexterity) to keep the fabric centered for such small, even folds. So I was forced to revisit my paper folder idea, and I'm pleased to say I came up with something that actually works!

The free pdf contains instructions for printing and assembling the tape maker. There is some careful cutting involved, but it goes together pretty quickly and can be used over and over again. And if you happen to smash/tear/burn it, simply print another.



The contraption is optimized for folding 1.125" bias strips in 0.5" wide single fold tape. You can tweak the starting strip width a bit to get slightly wider or narrower tape.



Here is how it works: The strip is fed into a "slide" that does the folding. The top notch and tabs keep the strip centered, and the "splitter" keeps the outer edges from curling or overlapping. The folded tape is pressed as soon as it comes out of the slide, and it goes under two more tabs to set the folds as they cool.
Why do I feel like I'm narrating an episode of How it's Made?

The result is flat, evenly folded bias tape. I've found myself making way more than I actually need just because the process is so fun and gratifying!

Download the free printable bias tape maker here.
See this post for more information about cutting bias strips.